Shifting of gears in a transmission in a vehicle environment is accomplished by use of a shifter in an automobile. The shifter provides an interactive user interface between a driver of the vehicle and the transmission. Thus, shifting a transmission using a shifter in a vehicle environment is an integral part of a driver's driving experience.
The force necessary to move the shifter from one position to another varies in accordance with each type of vehicle being driven. The varying force necessary for a user to apply to the shifter to move the shifter from one position to another may be equated to the quality or “feel” of the shifter felt by a user of the shifter.
The quality of shifter-feel is important to drivers of the vehicle. A driver associates a feel of the shifter with a particular type of vehicle being driven. For example, the preferred feel of a shifter associated with a sports car is not the same as a shifter feel of a luxury vehicle. Thus, a driver of a sports car may expect to feel more resistance from the shifter and thus, need to apply more force or torque to the shifter to move the shifter than the same driver would driving a luxury vehicle.
In order to improve the quality of the feel of the shifter, a system is needed that provides accurate measurements of force-travel data of a variety of shifters in various vehicle environments. The accurate measurements of force-travel data can be used to improve shifter quality and to engineer improved shifters, thereby improving the feel of the shifter to drivers using the shifter in a vehicle environment.